Dynamic aggressiveness for optimizing placement of virtual machines in a computing environment

ABSTRACT

Dynamically changing the aggressiveness of optimization of virtual machines on physical hosts allows more efficient and varied optimization. An aggressiveness policy mechanism periodically applies system conditions to the aggressiveness policies to create aggressiveness settings that are provided to an optimizer. The optimizer then uses the aggressiveness settings to dynamically adjust the aggressiveness of placement of virtual machines according to the aggressiveness settings and consistent with other optimization policies. The aggressiveness policy mechanism may allow a system administrator to create and/or select aggressiveness policies.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This invention generally relates to virtual machines in a computingenvironment, and more specifically relates to dynamically optimizingplacement of virtual machines on physical hosts in a computingenvironment using one or more policies that define aggressivenesssettings for the optimizer.

2. Background Art

Cloud computing is a common expression for distributed computing over anetwork and can also be used with reference to network-based servicessuch as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). IaaS is a cloud basedservice that provides physical processing resources to run virtualmachines (VMs) as a guest for different customers. The virtual machinemay host a user application or a server.

A computing environment, such as a cloud computing environment, may havea large number of physical machines that can each host one or morevirtual machines. Prior art cloud management tools allow a systemadministrator to assist in determining a specific physical host in whichto place or deploy a new virtual machine. After deployment, the cloudmanagement tools optimize the system by moving one or more virtualmachines to a different physical host. The placement of the new virtualmachine initially and during optimization may be determined by aplacement policy selected by the system administrator. Prior artplacement policies include fixed aggressiveness policies that definelimited settings for aggressiveness of optimization.

BRIEF SUMMARY

An apparatus and method for dynamically changing aggressiveness used tooptimize placement of virtual machines on physical hosts to allow moreefficient and varied optimization. An aggressiveness policy mechanismperiodically applies system conditions to the aggressiveness policies tocreate aggressiveness settings that are provided to an optimizer. Theoptimizer then uses the aggressiveness settings to dynamically adjustthe aggressiveness of placement of virtual machines according to theaggressiveness settings and consistent with other optimization policies.The aggressiveness policy mechanism may allow a system administrator tocreate and/or select aggressiveness policies.

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following more particular description of preferredembodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be described in conjunction with the appendeddrawings, where like designations denote like elements, and:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a cloud computing node;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a cloud computing environment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of abstraction model layers;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates a computer system with anaggressiveness policy mechanism as described herein that providesdynamic aggressiveness in optimizing placement of virtual machines onphysical hosts;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram that illustrates a simplified example ofdynamically changing the aggressiveness of optimization of the placementof virtual machines on host computers;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method for dynamically changingaggressiveness in optimizing placement of virtual machines on physicalhosts as described herein; and

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of an example method for step 630 in FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The claims and disclosure herein describe dynamically changingaggressiveness used to optimize placement of virtual machines onphysical hosts to allow more efficient and varied optimization. Anaggressiveness policy mechanism periodically applies system conditionsto the aggressiveness policies to create aggressiveness settings thatare provided to an optimizer. The optimizer then uses the aggressivenesssettings to dynamically adjust the aggressiveness of placement ofvirtual machines according to the aggressiveness settings and consistentwith other optimization policies. The aggressiveness policy mechanismmay allow a system administrator to create and/or select aggressivenesspolicies.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email). Theconsumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructureincluding network, servers, operating systems, storage, or evenindividual application capabilities, with the possible exception oflimited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forloadbalancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of an example of a cloudcomputing node is shown. Cloud computing node 100 is only one example ofa suitable cloud computing node and is not intended to suggest anylimitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of theinvention described herein. Regardless, cloud computing node 100 iscapable of being implemented and/or performing any of the functionalityset forth hereinabove.

In cloud computing node 100 there is a computer system/server 110, whichis operational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 110 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 110 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 110 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 1, computer system/server 110 in cloud computing node100 is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 110 may include, but are notlimited to, one or more processors or processing units 120, a systemmemory 130, and a bus 122 that couples various system componentsincluding system memory 130 to processor 120.

Bus 122 represents one or more of any of several types of busstructures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus usingany of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and notlimitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA)bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, andPeripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 110 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 110, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 130 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile, such as random access memory (RAM) 134, and/or cache memory136. Computer system/server 110 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 140 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 122 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 130 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions described in more detail below.

Program/utility 150, having a set (at least one) of program modules 152,may be stored in memory 130 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 152 generally carry out the functionsand/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention as describedherein.

Computer system/server 110 may also communicate with one or moreexternal devices 190 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display180, a disk drive, etc.; one or more devices that enable a user tointeract with computer system/server 110; and/or any devices (e.g.,network card, modem, etc.) that enable computer system/server 110 tocommunicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communicationcan occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces 170. Still yet, computersystem/server 110 can communicate with one or more networks such as alocal area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or apublic network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter 160. Asdepicted, network adapter 160 communicates with the other components ofcomputer system/server 110 via bus 122. It should be understood thatalthough not shown, other hardware and/or software components could beused in conjunction with computer system/server 110. Examples, include,but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processingunits, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, dataarchival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2, illustrative cloud computing environment 200 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 200 comprises one ormore cloud computing nodes 100 with which local computing devices usedby cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant(PDA) or cellular telephone 210A, desktop computer 210B, laptop computer210C, and/or automobile computer system 210N may communicate. Nodes 100may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown)physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private,Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or acombination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment 200 tooffer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which acloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 210A-Nshown in FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and that computingnodes 100 and cloud computing environment 200 can communicate with anytype of computerized device over any type of network and/or networkaddressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 3, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 200 (FIG. 2) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 3 are intended to be illustrative only and the disclosure andclaims are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided.

Hardware and software layer 310 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include mainframes 352; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 354;servers 356; blade servers 358; storage devices 360; and networks andnetworking components 362. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 364 and database software366.

Virtualization layer 320 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers368; virtual storage 370; virtual networks 372, including virtualprivate networks; virtual applications and operating systems 374; andvirtual clients 376.

In one example, management layer 330 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 378 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 380provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 382 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 384provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 386 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA. The management layer further includes anaggressiveness policy mechanism (APM) 350 as described herein. While theAPM 350 is shown in FIG. 3 to reside in the management layer 330, theAPM 350 actually may span other levels shown in FIG. 3 as needed.

Workloads layer 340 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 386; software development and lifecycle management 390;virtual classroom education delivery 392; data analytics processing 394;transaction processing 396 and mobile desktop 398.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a block diagram illustrates a aggressivenesspolicy mechanism (APM) 350 that was introduced above with reference toFIG. 3. The APM 350 dynamically changes aggressiveness for optimizingplacement of virtual machines on physical hosts. In the illustratedexample, the APM 350 is part of a cloud manager 410. The cloud manager410 may be similar to cloud managers known in the prior art but includesthe additional features of the aggressiveness policy mechanism 350 asdescribed herein. The cloud manager 410 allows a human user or systemadministrator 412 to set up and manage computer resources through a userinterface 414. The cloud manager 410 implements the cloud managementfunctions 330 described above with reference to FIG. 3. Theaggressiveness policy mechanism 350 may be incorporated into thescheduler (not shown) which manages migration of VMs to physical hostsas known in the prior art.

Again referring to FIG. 4, the cloud manager 410 includes an optimizer416. The optimizer 416 determines an optimum location for the placementof virtual machines for load balancing and other needs of the system.The optimizer 416 may operate similarly to prior art optimizers exceptas described herein. The optimizer 416 monitors VM and host performanceand allows the scheduler (not shown) to migrate VMs to other hostsaccording to optimization policies 418 set by the system administrator412. The optimization policies 418 are policies as known in the priorart to optimize placement of the virtual machines on hosts 440 in thecomputer resources 430.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the cloud manager 410 allows the systemadministrator 412 to set up and manage physical computer resources 430.Computer resources 430 represent physical computer resources such as aphysical host computer system in a cloud computing environment. A set ofcomputer resources managed as a group is sometimes referred to as a“cloud”. In the illustrated example, the computer resources (or cloud)430 includes one or more physical computer hosts 440. The physicalcomputer hosts 440 may be located remotely from the cloud manager. Ahost is a physical computer accessible over a network to the cloudmanager. A host has a hypervisor (software) that allows the host to runone or more virtual machines as known in the prior art. As shown in FIG.4, computer resources 430 include one or more hosts 440 which includeshost1 442. In this example, host1 442 has two virtual machines, namely:VM1 444 and VM2 446.

As introduced above, the aggressiveness policy mechanism 350 dynamicallychanges aggressiveness for optimizing placement of virtual machines onphysical hosts. In the illustrated example in FIG. 4, the aggressivenesspolicy mechanism (APM) 350 includes aggressiveness settings 422 andaggressiveness policies 424. The aggressiveness settings 422 andaggressiveness policies 424 may be stored in memory with the APM 350 orany memory associated with or accessible to the cloud manager 410. TheAPM 350 processes the aggressiveness policies 424 to set or modify theaggressiveness settings 422. The aggressiveness settings 422 are used bythe optimizer 416 to determine how aggressively to apply optimizationpolicies 418 to move virtual machines among the physical hosts 440 ofthe cloud 430.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram that that illustrates a simplified example ofdynamically changing the aggressiveness of optimization for placement ofvirtual machines on host computers. In this example, the optimizer 416has determined to optimize host1 442 by moving a virtual machine 512 tohost2 514 using the optimization policies 418 (FIG. 4) in the mannerknown in the prior art. The APM 350 (FIG. 4) provides aggressivenesssetting 422 to the optimizer 416 to control the aggressiveness ofoptimization. In this example, the aggressiveness settings 422 indicateto the optimizer 416 to limit movement of virtual machines between hoststo one migration per hour. The APM 350 processes the aggressivenesspolicies 424 to set or modify the aggressiveness settings 422. Theaggressiveness policies 424 indicate how to set the aggressivenesssettings 422 depending on system conditions 516 as described furtherbelow. The APM 350 monitors the system conditions 516 to dynamicallychange the aggressiveness settings 422 according to the aggressivenesspolicies 424. When the aggressiveness policies 424 and changing systemconditions 516 indicate the aggressiveness settings should be changed,updated aggressiveness settings 422 are sent to the optimizer 416. Theupdated aggressiveness settings may then indicate a new maximum formoving virtual machines between hosts. For example, the new maximum formoving virtual machine hosts may be changed to five or ten migrationsper hour (not shown) instead of 1 migration per hour previously.

The aggressiveness settings 422 described above with reference to FIG. 4are determined by the APM 350 using one or more aggressiveness policies424 set up by the system administrator 412. The aggressiveness policies422 describe an aggressiveness setting or a change to an aggressivenesssetting depending on one or more system conditions 516 as shown in FIG.5. Examples of system conditions that may be used include time basedconditions such as time of the day, day of the week, holidays, etc.Other conditions that can be used may be related to the loadingcondition of hardware and software in the system. For example, theseconditions may include the number of migration failures in the recentpast, the number of network connections for a physical host, the numberof packets dropped on a network connection, number of deployments in thelast N minutes, the total number of virtual machines in the cloud, andthe total number of hosts in the cloud, etc.

As introduced above, the APM 350 (FIG. 4) sends aggressiveness setting422 to the optimizer 416. The aggressiveness settings 422 may includeone or more settings that indicate restrictions on the optimizer in agiven time period or for concurrent operations. For example, the settingmay include a maximum number of concurrent migrations per host, amaximum number of concurrent migrations per cloud, a maximum number ofmigrations per host per hour, and a maximum number of migrations percloud per hour. Thus the aggressiveness of the system or cloud could bereflected in a 4-tuple as follows:

-   -   aggressiveness=max_concurrent_migrations_per_host,        -   max_concurrent_migrations_per_cloud,        -   max_migrations_per_hour_per_host,        -   max_migrations_per_hour_per_cloud.            Each of the aggressiveness settings in the 4-tuple above may            have a numerical value such that at one particular time the            aggressiveness settings could be represented as follows:    -   aggressiveness=10, 100, 50, 1000.

The aggressiveness policies 424 may be in the form of an expression or afunction that returns a set of values for a number of aggressivenesssettings depending on one or more system or cloud conditions 510 asshown in FIG. 5. For some examples, aggressiveness policies may be asfollows:

-   -   If the time of day=“peak hours” then set the values of the        aggressiveness setting to aggressiveness=5, 50, 25, 500.    -   If the time of day=“non-peak hours” then set the values of the        aggressiveness setting to aggressiveness=10, 100, 50, 1000.    -   If the number of migration failures in the last 2 hours is        greater than 1, then set the values of the aggressiveness        setting to aggressiveness=1, 10, 5, 25.    -   If the number of migration failures in the last 2 hours is zero,        then set the values of the aggressiveness setting to        aggressiveness=10, 100, 50, 1000.

Alternatively, instead of setting the aggressiveness settings to aspecific value, the aggressiveness policies may modify the currentvalues of the aggressiveness settings and set a new value based on thecloud conditions and the previous aggressiveness settings. For someexamples, aggressiveness policies may be as follows:

-   -   If the number of migration failures in the last 2 hours is        greater than 1, then set the values of the aggressiveness        setting to ½ of their current value.    -   Set the        max_concurrent_migrations_per_host=8−(0.5*number_of_recent_migration_failures)−(0.05*number_of_recent_vm_deployments)    -   Set the        max_concurrent_migrations_per_cloud=0.6*max_concurrent_migrations_per_host*(number_of_hosts+1)    -   Set the        max_migrations_per_hour_per_host=16+(0.5*number_of_VMs)−(0.25*number_of_recent_migration_failures)    -   Set the        max_migrations_per_hour_per_cloud=0.7*max_migrations_per_hour_per_host*(number_of_hosts+1)

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 600 for dynamicaggressiveness in optimizing placement of virtual machines on physicalhosts. The method 600 is presented as a series of steps performed by acomputer software program such as the aggressiveness policy mechanism350 described above. First, get the current conditions of the cloud(step 610). Get the aggressiveness policies (step 620). Evaluate thepolicies using the current conditions in step 610 to set theaggressiveness settings (step 630). Send updated aggressiveness settingsto the optimizer (step 640). Optimize loading of the physical hosts withthe aggressiveness settings (step 650). The method is then done.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a flow diagram shows method 700 that is anexemplary method for performing step 630 in method 600 for dynamicallychanging aggressiveness in optimizing placement of virtual machines onphysical hosts. The method 700 is presented as a series of stepsperformed by a computer software program such as the aggressivenesspolicy mechanism 350 described above. First, get the current date andtime (step 710). If there are polices for the current date and time(step 720=yes) then apply the aggressiveness polices to update theaggressiveness settings (step 730) and the method is done. If there areno polices for the current date and time (step 720=no) then the methodis done.

The claims and disclosure herein provide an apparatus and method fordynamically changing the aggressiveness in which the optimizer optimizesplacement of virtual machines on physical hosts to allow more efficientand varied optimization.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations are possiblewithin the scope of the claims. Thus, while the disclosure isparticularly shown and described above, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that these and other changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theclaims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: at least oneprocessor; a memory coupled to the at least one processor; a firstphysical host with a virtual machine and a second physical host coupledto the apparatus via a network; an optimizer for optimizing the loadingof virtual machines on host computers; an aggressiveness policymechanism residing in the memory and executed by the at least oneprocessor that provides dynamically changing the aggressiveness settingsfor loading the virtual machines based on aggressiveness policies thatindicate to change aggressiveness settings depending on a systemcondition; wherein the optimizer dynamically changes the aggressivenessof optimization as indicated by the dynamically changing aggressivenesssettings; wherein the aggressiveness policy mechanism allows a systemadministrator to define one or more aggressiveness policies that areused to determine the aggressiveness settings; wherein the at least onesystem condition is chosen from the following: number of migrationfailures in the past, the number of network connections for a physicalhost, the number of packets dropped on a network connection, number ofdeployments in the past, the total number of virtual machines in thesystem, the total number of hosts in the system; wherein theaggressiveness settings comprise: a maximum number of migrations perhost per hour, a maximum number of migrations per cloud per hour, amaximum number of concurrent migrations per host and a maximum number ofconcurrent migrations per cloud; and wherein the aggressiveness policymechanism periodically evaluates the aggressiveness policies todynamically update the aggressiveness settings used by the optimizer todetermine whether to migrate the virtual machine to another physicalhost.